Cubs: Lily Fans want to know. Or at least one does. I got a question today: How many of Shadow’s descendents should have cubs this year. 
Deer Answer: counting only the ones we saw with cubs a year ago, the answer would be 10 are due in 2020. They are RC (21 years old), Colleen (17), Bow (14), Jewel (11), Vanna (8), Vonnie (5), Mikah (6), Sadie (6), Ember (7), and Pixie (5). On top of that, there are all the young females who are coming of age who might be having their first litters. We’ll see who we see. Looking forward to it.
Deer looked nice on this sunny day. As I watched, a mink came bouncing up the hill from the lake and ducked in her hole in the snow at the bottom of the stairs. I watched to see who would emerge. But a deer was standing only a foot and a half away from the hole as I saw part of a head watching for clear sailing to stop up for some bologna. The head disappeared. Back to work. Then Streak appeared out the window. That meant grabbing bologna out of the little refrigerator near my desk as I wondered where Banjo had disappeared to and if any minks really live here for if the hole in the snow was their home away from home.
Mink streak Streak took the bologna from my hand and started toward her hideaway to the right on the second floor deck and then decided to streak past to the left and down the steps to her hole as a deer watched the action.
Then I heard from Judy Thon that two people had to cancel out of the 2nd Black Bear Field Study Course, reducing the class to 6. If we overfill the courses to 9, that means three spaces are open in the July 12 to 15 class (Just before the LilyPad Picnic) and 2 spaces are open in the July 2 to 6 class—each has room for a couple. Click here for more info.
At the Bear Center, many exhibit changes are happening as we continue to make things new and better before we open in a couple months.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center